What can you do to lower your carbon footprint? What can you do beyond your family’s footprint that will make a difference? Elton Sherwin’s presentation to the Century Club of California

1. 10 Ways to Lower Your
Carbon Footprint
What You Can do
That Makes a Difference
Elton Sherwin
Executive Director
Carbon Zero Institute
Century Club of
California
November 18, 2015

2. Your Carbon Footprint
Good News
 ≈80% related to just TWO human activities*
Bad News
 We are addicted to both and dependent on one
Turn to the person next to you and guess
6
* Anthropogenic Sources

3. Where do
Greenhouse Gases Come From?
Burning Stuff
 Wood
 Coal
 Oil
 Gasoline
 Diesel
 Clear forests
 Crop residue
 Garbage
 Dung
Agriculture & Livestock
 Beef
 Lamb
8

4. Beef 2 to 10x Footprint
9

5. 15
http://revelle.net/lakeside/lakeside.new/understanding.html

6. 19
1/3 to 1/2 Red Meat Size of Your Home
Mostly driving
And flying

7. Optimal Way to Lower Your
Carbon Footprint
1) Move into a studio apartment in the city
2) Become a vegetarian
3) Give up air travel
4) Sell your car(s) and use only public transit
5) Buy everything used at Goodwill
You will have a tiny carbon footprint

8. I shared those with you so the
next set of recommendations
seem easy…
23

9. Elton’s Top Ten Recommendations
to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Countdown from
#10 to #1
10

10. Switch from Hamburger to
Quinoa Burger
Or other Veggie Burger
 On average, Americans eat three hamburgers a
week, nearly 50 billion burgers per year
 ≈15 to19 million pick-up trucks and SUVs
 Finally, Veggie-burgers that taste great!
 Add avocado, onion… 25Also on
Munchery.com
10
Best for frying Best for grilling

11. 26
http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/meateaters/pdf/methodology_ewg_meat_eaters_guide_to_health_and_climate_2011.pdf
Carbon Footprint of Food
Compared to Beef
 2x better: Pork & Salmon
 4x better: Chicken
 5x better: Eggs
 10x better: Milk, grains, veggies
PoundsofCO2e

12. 27
http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/meateaters/pdf/methodology_ewg_meat_eaters_guide_to_health_and_climate_2011.pdf
#9 Minimize food waste – smaller
portion sizes of red meat
#8 Switch from beef to
chicken or fish once a week
#7 Meatless Mondays or Fridays
(or both)
PoundsofCO2e
#9
#8
#7

13. 28
PoundsofCO2e
http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/meateaters/pdf/methodology_ewg_meat_eaters_guide_to_health_and_climate_2011.pdf
Elton’s Fan Club

14. Move from Food to Utility Bill
29
http://revelle.net/lakeside/lakeside.new/understanding.html

15. Lower Your Utility Bill
Replace Lightbulbs
Turn off the lights
30
Replace pre-2000
Refrigerators
• All of them
Unplug stuff use
infrequently
• Game units
• Old TVs
• Chargers
• Desktop PCs
• Tower PCs
#6

16. Move from Utility Bill to
Transportation
31
http://revelle.net/lakeside/lakeside.new/understanding.html

17. Skype, Facetime
GoToMeeting…
32
Sometimes, skip the drive
 Don’t visit relatives you don’t like
 Don’t go to meetings you don’t
want to go to
 Make a phone call, skip the flight
#5

18. Next Vehicle
Hybrid, Plug-in, ZipCar or Uber
33
Try it for a Month
Hybrid
Ford, Toyota, Lexus, Honda…
Plug-in Hybrid
Volt, some Prius…
All Electric
Leaf, Chevy, Fiat, Tesla,
Focus…
TAXI
Gas or electric
#4

19. Avoid Buying Another
100% Gasoline
or
100% Diesel
Vehicle
34
Gas
Hybrid
No plugPlug in
Hybrid
100%
Electric
California’s Electric Emissions
http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/02/08/myths-and-facts-about-electric-cars/185798
#4

20. Move from Transportation to
The Stuff You Buy
35
http://revelle.net/lakeside/lakeside.new/understanding.html

21. Buy Used, Buy Less
Buy Used Online Buy Used
Locally
Family Holiday
Spending Limits
84¢
JOY = $25 max
100% local
#3

22. The Worst Possible Way to Heat
Your Home or Cook a Meal?
38
http://revelle.net/lakeside/lakeside.new/understanding.html

23. Is Burning Wood or Charcoal
39
www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/wood_burning_handbook.pdf
Or paper, leaves,
cardboard, garbage,
plastic, dung or
gift wrapping

24. Stop Burning Wood and Charcoal
Switch to Propane or Natural Gas
40
www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/wood_burning_handbook.pdf
#2

25. Elton’s Top Ten Recommendations
to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
41
#1

26. Downsize or
Rent Out a Room
How?

 Place of worship
 Teacher
 University or
College
 Word of Mouth
42
Why?
 Reduce utilities per
person
 Reduce commute
 Spread building’s
footprint over more
people
#1

27. Downsize or
Rent Out a Room

 Place of worship
 Teacher
 University or
College
 Word of Mouth
43
#1

28. Elton’s Top Ten Recommendations to
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Healthier and Wealthier
1. Downsize or rent out a room or two
2. Stop burning wood or charcoal and
switch to propane or natural gas
3. Buy used, buy less
4. Next vehicle a hybrid, plug-in—or Uber
5. Skype/Facetime occasionally instead of traveling
6. Lower your electric/utility bill (CFLs, LEDs, EnergyStar)
7. Meatless Mondays or Fridays (or both)
8. Switch from beef to chicken or fish once a week
9. Minimize food waste – lower portion sizes of red meat
10. Switch from hamburger to Quinoa burger

29. 45
Handout
Download from www.EltonSherwin.com

30. 46
Checklists
www.EltonSherwin.com
 What are Your Home’s Top
Energy Wasters?
 How Do I Find the Energy Hogs in
My House?
 What are Your Company’s Top
Energy Wasters?
 Use this checklist for schools
 CFLs in the Sherwin Household
 A lighting tutorial
www.Amazon.com
Download from www.EltonSherwin.com

31. Bigger Picture
How can we have
significant
impact?
Rest of the
World?
47

32. http://www.cgdev.org/page/mapping-impacts-climate-change
1
2
25
Extreme Weather
Impacts of Climate Change

33. 49
Overall Vulnerability
http://www.cgdev.org/page/mapping-impacts-climate-change
Human losses
from floods,
droughts,
extreme heat,
wind storms and
wild fires
Impacts of Climate Change

34. What is Different About These
Countries?
50

35. Another
2,000,000,000+ Coming…
51
Projected growth to 2050
Image: Anthony Marr

36. Another
2,000,000,000+ Coming…
52

37. Another
2,000,000,000+ Coming…
53

38. The Challenge
 Children having children
 Teen pregnancies
 Unwanted pregnancies
 Unplanned
 Child brides
54
800 million to
billion+ children
by mid-century

39. “Education for women and
family planning information and
services, would cost 1,000
times less than any of the other
technical options to reduce
carbon emissions”
Population Media Center
55

40. 56
Came Expecting
• Organic lettuce
• Recycling
• Grass fed beef
• Locally grown
Jarring Leap
• Population
• Teenagers
• Our NGOs
It took me a long time to
be convinced by the data
There is new news
Game changing
developments

41. Two Game Changing
Developments
What venture capitalists call existence proofs
1. Population Media Center - www.populationmedia.org
 Radio and TV: Educational Entertainment; “Soap Operas”
 Very effective, very inexpensive, vastly underfunded
2. State of Colorado Pilot
 Teen pregnancy -40%; teen abortion -42%
 Long lasting reversible methods (3+ years)
 One visit, no permission slip
 Free
 Donor cost: $28m Medicaid savings: $49m+
57
www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/science/colorados-push-against-teenage-pregnancies-is-a-startling-success.html
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17820571 and www.populationmedia.org

42. 58
I started working on
• Reforestation
• Energy efficiency
• Building
efficiency
• Green agenda
Eventually realized
• 800 million
children
unwanted or
born to teen
parents would
dominate the
ecosystem

43. If we want to
Fight climate change,
Empower women,
Reduce poverty,
Protect ourselves from failed states and
terrorism
one of the simplest, fastest and cheapest
thing we can do is make sure that as few
people as possible become parents
before they actually want to
59Adapted from remarks by Isabel Sawhill Economist at
the Brookings Institution

44. This is the Wrong Time in History
To Stand on the Sidelines and
Let This Happen
60
Projected growth to 2050
Image: Anthony Marr

45. Another
2,000,000,000+ Coming…
61
This is Not the Planet We Want to
Give to Our Children and
Grandchildren

46. Influence Existing Programs
 Many donors, NGOs and governments
 Education
 Poverty
 Healthcare
 Leverage their effectiveness by funding
 Colorado model
 PMC model of Educational Entertainment
 Dramatic increase in effectiveness of existing
programs
62

47. Another
2,000,000,000+ Coming…
63
If not us
Then who?

48. Summarize
Learned Today
1. Burn too much stuff
2. Eating too much beef (and lamb)
3. 2B to 3B more children on the way
 Over 800 million from child brides, teen
parents, unwanted or unplanned
64

49. In Conclusion
Recommendations
1. Rent out that spare bedroom
2. Cut back on the red meat
3. Donate the rent to:
 Population Media Center or other
organizations focused preventing teen
pregnancies and child brides
4. Think about
 How to have California follow Colorado
 Africa, India and Pakistan
65

50. In Conclusion
 What are we going prevent another
800+ million unwanted children and
teen pregnancies, child brides?
 Who do we know?
 What boards are we on?
 How do we prevent this:
66

51.  What are we going prevent another
800+ million unwanted children and
teen pregnancies, child brides?
 Who do we know?
 What boards are we on?
 How do we prevent this:
67
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